One wishes there were a way to succinctly explain what the hell went on this weekend in the North American Baseball League. There isn't, but "mop-up catcher Joey Gathright" gets us pretty close to explaining the weird story of the NABL's Lake County (Ill.) Fielders, owned in part by Kevin Costner.

What happened in Lake County over the last 72 hours has been a nightmare.

Fielders manager Tim Johnson resigned before the game Saturday against the Yuma Scorpions, and in a show of support, 11 players wouldn't play. The Fielders were upset about not being paid. The players remained on the bench.

Fielders hitting coach Pete LaCock, a former Cub who has seen many strange things, took over as interim manager. He put all listed pitchers in positional spots for the game. Non-pitchers pitched.

To even out the playing field, Scorpions player-manager Jose Canseco did the same. He also named himself starting pitcher.

(He threw six innings and won, too. You can, as always, call to congratulate him at 818-903-6598.)